This is something that I have observed for quite sometime on the air. Operators not using the Phonetic Alphabet. You all do what ever you want when you key that Mic, but here is how some of us hear it.

A calls suffix of RRG, is not Radio Radio Germany, sometimes when tuning around, we only hear the last letter of a call, in this case it would be Germany. When you come into the middle of that call you hear radio. Radio is a radio, Romeo is a letter. Germany is Germany, Golf is a letter.

A call of K1 whatever, is Kilowatt one. Kilowatt makes me want to write down KW1.

K4SA, Kilowatt 4 South America. Whoa, South America?

K1SA, Kilowatt 1 Sugar America. Sugar? America?

Zansabar for "Z" Sugar for "S" America for "A" Radio for "R", the list goes on and on.

I'm not trying to dog out operators that use this type of operating technique. I just wanted to post this so that MAYBE someone may read it and realize how confusing it is when operators don't use the PHONETIC ALPHABET.

I know DX operators sometimes deviate completely from the Phonetics and to answer back to them the same way they called is what we do so they hear their own call how they called it. That is not what the nature of my post is.

Remember that the Alpha - Bravo - Charlie alphabet was designed much more for high signal to noise ratio signals with operators quite possibly having very strong accents when not speaking their native language ( or sometimes even when they are!). As a result, in low signal to noise conditions, it suffers from the lack of syllabic redundancy which much longer words have.

Weak signal VHF SSB operators in Europe found this out 20 or more years ago - the US approach of using morse on VHF when the going gets tough never really caught on in Europe.

Personally, I use ITU phonetics until they fail me - then I switch to other common "unofficial" phonetics.

Two or three times in the past year, "November Zero Romeo Zulu Tango" wasn't going through clearly ("November Zero station?" or even "Zero station?"). After a couple of back-and-forths with standard phonetics, "Norway Zero Radio Zanzibar Texas" would immediately be picked-up correctly by the receiving station. I don't know if it's because the non-standard phonetics are easier to hear or if it's because the receiving station now has two sets of sounds to consider.

Slightly more often, it was a single letter that caused problems. "November Zero Romeo Zulu Tango." "November Zero Romeo Sierra Tango, five and nine." (How the Hallicrafters did he hear "Sierra"?) "EX4MPL, this is November Zero Romeo ZANZIBAR Tango; you're five-nine." "Ah, Romeo Zanzibar Tango, thank you, five and nine."

It's like I tell my students - you need to know the best practices, and why they're best practices. Once you grok that, you'll begin to understand when it's best to deviate from the best practices.

I can understand why some people use alternate phonetics especially when the copy gets rough and the standard phonetics aren't working. But I ask you, half toungue in cheek and half out of a real need, what is a good alternate phonetic for xray? I've lost a couple of contacts over the years because the DX couldn't copy xray.

"Stuart - have you considered xylophone? Xanthippe? X-box? Xyster? (look it up!) Or the Greek letter Xi?"

And xenon (radioactive xenon gas, a real substance by the way). With all due respect most or all of those are pronounced with a "Z" sound by english speaking people with the exception of X-box. Doesn't exactly reinforce an "X". You'd need a good command of the english language and be a good speller to correctly understand what the speaker is trying to convey. I might try X-box though. I wonder how many foreign stations know what an X-box is?

I would have thought that X-ray was universal enough to be understood, boy was I suprised when the DX missed it.

Stuart - It's "KBN" -- and I realize all of my suggestions, Xcept X-Box, start with a "Z" sound.

Listen around and see how DX stations phoneticize the letter "X". I've heard "xilofono", "equis" (Spanish for the actual letter), "Xantippe" (Socrates' shrewish wife), and a few others I can't remember off the top of my shiny head.

Check my first post on this subject, over on page 1. There are a lot of possibilities for every letter.

There used to be a guy, W7OTT, in Seattle, who'd identify "This is W 7 One Two Three, go." Confusing? At first. Legal? Yes, unless he was trying to deceive. Which he wasn't.

As much as I would like to agree that we all should use the same "official" alphabet (Even though, As already pointed out, There is NO requirement to do so)In real life, It just does not work out that way.

I fully agree with N0RZT.

When I am working many DX stations, Giving my call the way is should be (Kilo Nine Kilo Juliet Mike)will bring me lots of "again, again" requests.Whereas giving my callsign as Kilo Nine Kilo Japan Mexico seems to get through the first time, Every time.This happens far more often than can be blamed on band condtions at the time of call..........

Copyright 2000-2018 eHam.net, LLC
eHam.net is a community web site for amateur (ham) radio operators around the world.
Contact the site with comments or questions.
WEBMASTER@EHAM.NETSite Privacy Statement